The first ever Softball Cruise Clinic was a whopping success. Monica Abbott proved to be as amazing an individual as you would imagine. Besides the instruction in the sessions which was awesome she was also very honest about her own background. She shared a humurous story of being the girl who annually played right field and just hoped to get walked, or get hit by pitches in order to get on base. One year a coach called to invite her older “all star” sister to join their team, which was nothing new, but this coach also reached out to her and said he wanted her as well. That little vote of confidence was the spark that it took to help softball transition from a “fun thing to do with friends” to being something that she really wanted to work at. After being “selected” for this travel team she finally started taking pitching lessons. That one coaches act of reaching out to her and believing in what she could become, instead of what she was at the time, plus years and year and years of amazing work habits led to our being blessed to witness one of the best pitching stories in history.

So I would like to “tip my hat” to that softball coach for taking the chance, and challenge the rest of you coaches out there to realize just how much your words/actions can have on the sport. Whether for good or bad you can have a dramatic effect on young girls dreams. She is now reaching out and ecnouraging so many other softball players to encourage them to pursue this game with a passion, because she was encouraged by one coach taking a chance. There just may be a Monica Abbott hiding inside that perenniel right fielder, and how cool would it be if you were the one to find her.